Infrastructure

Raising investments in water infrastructure globally and cracking down on corruption would result in over $1 trillion per year in benefits related to health, the economy and environmental protection, according to a new study backed by the United Nations.

EPA’s fifth Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment identifies investments needed over the next 20 years for thousands of miles of pipes and thousands of treatment plants, storage tanks and water distribution systems.

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor say 44 projects in 11 states will receive $20.8 million in WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants.

Utah might have to face a bill of $1.2 billion for tackling what regulators there believe is the most serious water problem the state has seen in the more than four decades since the federal Clean Water Act came into effect. The issue is related to the excess population of algae blooms in water that consume oxygen and threaten aquatic life.